Epstein's Secret
by OriginalPippie
Summary: Epstein's world is turned upside down after he confides in Mr. Kotter, telling him a deep secret.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

The first day of school started out just like any other first day. Freddie and Vinnie stood outside the men's room waiting for Horshack to arrive. Horshack, however, was attempting to hide from them in the hallways. This attempt to hide didn't turn out too well once Vinnie snagged him by the lockers. Vinnie dragged Horshack by the scarf down the hall, towards the men's room.

"Come along, Horshack. We gotta get this over with."

"But Vinnie. Couldn't we just skip this year? Just this once."

"No we can't skip it. Now get in the bathroom."

They entered the bathroom where they found Freddie standing in front of a stall with a frown.

"Ok Washington. Let's do this."

"No dice, man." said Freddie, waving them off

"But we gotta! It's been the tradition since sixth grade!" Vinnie complained. "We gotta keep up the tradition or else the school year won't go right. Every year on the first day of school, we always give Horshack a swirly."

"As much as I dislike the swirlys I have never been one to go against tradition." Horshack replied, slightly reluctantly

"I'm telling you, we can't do the tradition today." Freddie insisted. "Epstein ain't shown up yet."

Vinnie looked a little disappointed. "Well then we'll just wait 'till he gets here."

"Maybe we should wait 'till tomorrow." Horshack suggested

"No! It's always been on the first day of school. That's why we call it the first day swirly. That's the way it's always been and that's the way it's going to be."

"It's no big deal." Freddie said coolly "Epstein will show up. We'll do it then."

Vinnie placed his hands on his hips and looked down with a slight frown. "Alright." He pointed a finger at Horshack. "You're off the hook for now. But as soon as Epstein shows up, you're gettin' that swirly."

"Oh good!" Horshack clapped his hands together. "Just what I was not hoping for."

Vinnie shoved Horshack forward and the three of them left the bathroom. Coincidently, as soon as they stepped into the hall, the first period bell rang. They strolled into the classroom, walking right past Gabe.

"Ah yes!" said Gabe with a smile, stopping them in their tracks. "The school year is already off to a good start! You boys are tardy as usual." He watched as they took to their seats. "But Arnold! You're not soaking wet. I thought this was the first day of school."

Vinnie looked at Horshack and Freddie, holding one arm out toward Gabe. "See! Even Mr. Kotter knows the tradition!" he slapped his hands on top of his desk. "That's it, I change my mind. We're giving the swirly without Epstein." He stood up and started to go over to Horshack's desk. Gabe stepped forward and stopped him.

"Barbarino, sit down. There will be no swirlys when class has not even started yet."

"But Mr. Kotter! The tradition!"

"But nothing, Barbarino." Gabe tried not to laugh. "Sit down. You can have your tradition later." As he watched Vinnie sit back down, he looked around the room. "Wait a minute here. We seem to be one Sweathog short. Has anyone seen Epstein?"

"Nah Mr. Kah-tare. We ain't seen him." Freddie informed, "Come to think about it we haven't seen him since the first day of summer."

"Oh no." said Horshack in mock disappointment "Little Juan has gone missing? Oh, it is such a shame. Looks like I won't be getting my swirly today."

"Well somebody's had to of seen him." Gabe said, ignoring Horshack's comment. "Vinnie what about you?"

"Wut?"

"Have you seen Epstein?"

"Ware?"

"Vinnie I don't have time for this. Have you seen Epstein?" Right as he asked that, Epstein entered the classroom and stood behind him.

"Yeah I seen him." said Vinnie, grinning

"Where, Barbarino?"

Vinnie pointed behind Gabe. "I seen him right there."

As Gabe turned around to face Epstein, Epstein started walking to his desk. "Hey sorry I'm late Mr. Kotter." He sank down into his chair, looking forlorn.

"What? No note today, Juan?" Epstein, looking down, shook his head. "Juan Epstein does not have an excuse? What kind of universe did I wake up into where Juan Epstein does not have an excuse?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Kotter. Haven't exactly been myself lately."

"Epstein I can't help but get the idear that something is bothering you." Epstein remained silent, almost refusing to look up at him. "Epstein," Gabe walked over to Epstein's desk. "What's going on?"

This time Epstein did look up. The expression on his face was far from happy. "Nothing Mr. Kotter. Nothing that I need to talk about."

Gabe stepped away from the desk. "If you insist, Epstein."

"Hey Epstein!" Vinnie exclaimed, ignoring the previous interaction between his friend and teacher.  
>"Where were you? We was s'posed to give Horshack his swirly. It's the first day!"<p>

"Oh yeah, sorry, Barbarino. Guess I forgot."

"How could you forget? We do this every year!"

"I don't mind if you forgot, Epstein." said Horshack "Really. You can forget next year too."

"I just have a lot of stuff on my mind, alright?" Epstein said, defensively "Now get off my case, will ya?"

"Alright, alright!" Vinnie sat back, crossing his arms and brooding slightly. "Guess we'll just do it later."

"If I may have everyone's attention," said Gabe, standing in front of the class. "Here's a kooky idear. I know it's a little unorthodox, but how about we actually try starting class. Everybody take out your books and get ready to take notes. We'll discuss Arnold's swirly and other outside issues later."

With some collective grumblings coming from around the classroom, the class officially began. As Gabe gave his lecture, Epstein sank even deeper into his desk, becoming even more reserved as time went on. The closest he ever came to participating in the class work, was picking up his pencil and repeatedly rotating it from led tip to eraser on the top of his desk. Occasionally, Gabe attempted to get Epstein's attention. When this occurred, Epstein would turn his eyes up toward the teacher before either rolling his eye back downward or staring into outer space.

Eventually, the bell rang to announce the end of the class. Quickly announcing the sure to be ignored homework assignment to the leaving students, Gabe then turned to the blackboard to erase the chalk marks. When he turned back around, he saw that Epstein remained in his chair.

"Epstein, in case you didn't notice, the bell rang." The quiet, downcast student did not budge. "That means class is over. You can leave now." This time, Epstein turned his eyes in his direction. "Okay, Epstein, something's bothering you, so what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He slid out of his chair, taking to his feet. Starting to walk to the door, he stopped suddenly and turned back around to Gabe. "Actually, Mr. Kotter, I um, I could talk to somebody."

"Ok Epstein, you need to talk, I'm here for you right now. Why don't you pull up a desk here and we'll talk."

Epstein nodded "Thanks Mr. Kotter." He paused "Hey you mind if the door's closed? I knida need this to be private."

"Go ahead, Epstein."

Gabe sat behind his desk while Epstein closed the door. Then, Epstein walked over to the desks and scooted one in front of the teacher's desk. As he sat down with a sigh, he reverted to his previous withdrawn state. After a couple minutes of excruciating silence, Gabe cleared his throat to get the boy's attention. Epstein looked up at him, almost with a timid expression in his eyes.

"Epstein, in order to talk to someone, you have to actually open your mouth and let words come out."

"Sorry Mr. Kotter. But this turned out to be a lot harder to talk about than I thought it would be."

"It's ok, Epstein. Just take your time."

At first, Epstein hesitated to speak. As he made quiet attempts to speak, he nearly trembled. He fidgeted a little before looking at Gabe. Finally, after countless false starts, he was able to begin speaking his mind.

"Mr. Kotter this is tough for me because I've been keeping it inside for so long. Ever since middle school, I've kept this secret with me. But I've always tried to forget about it. Guess I've been in denial about it." He stopped and turned his head away. "I can't do this."

"Sure you can. You've got a good start, just keep going."

"Well if I'm gonna keep goin' then you're gonna hafta not look at me."

"Ok, Epstein, if that'll make things easier for you; I'll just turn my chair around and look at the bulletin board." He said, while doing just that. "Hello bulletin board. Please continue. I believe you were telling me about some sort of problem."

"Mr. Kotter this is serious. I can't handle you bein' funny right now."

"Ok I'm sorry, Epstein. No jokes, I promise."

Epstein shook his head and stood up. "Actually, forget it." He walked over to the other desks and stood there for a moment with his head down. "Mr. Kotter…" he said softly. "I never admitted this before and I don't plan to admit this ever again. At least not out loud." He paused. "I'm scared."

Gabe turned his chair around, prompting Epstein to throw his hands up to the side of his face and shout, "Don't look at me!" Gabe then turned his chair a little so he wouldn't be looking directly at him. "What are you scared of, Epstein?"

"What people might do if they found out. Especially my mother."

"Found out about what? Did you kill somebody when you were in middle school?"

"No!" Epstein shook his head then quietly walked back over to the desk. He hunched over, placed both hands on the desk and looked Gabe in the eyes. "Ok Mr. Kotter, I'll tell ya. But keep in mind that I'm only telling you about this because you're the only one I can trust not to say anything."

"Thank you, Epstein, for trusting me. I promise I won't say a word."

Epstein nodded, looking down slightly. "Ok good." He sat down on top of the smaller desk. "Mr. Kotter, like I was saying before, I've been in denial about this for a while. I guess now, I realized that I can't run from the truth anymore." He paused "The thing is, I've recently been trying to come to terms with this. In fact, I spent all summer in my room thinking about it. You know I only left my room at mealtimes, just so nobody could claim my share of the food?"

"Epstein you've been beating around the bush the entire time. Just get to the point already."

"Ok, ok. You're not gonna believe this, Mr. Kotter. Hell I didn't even want to believe it for a while. Still don't. Nobody could believe it if they tried." He sighed "Mr. Kotter this is something that would kill my mother if she found out. It'd kill _me _if she found out." He looked back up; his demeanor was softer and much more timid. "Mr. Kotter… I… I'm gay."

Gabe's eyes widened. He stuck his finger in his ear, wiggling it a little. "Epstein I think I must have misheard you. Please repeat that last part, because I thought you said that you were gay."

"I did." Epstein said softly. "Look, I never wanted to be like this. I've been having a real hard time trying to deal with it lately. I can't let nobody find out about it. Mr. Kotter I told ya already that I trust you." He pointed a finger at him. "You better not let me down."

"Don't worry, Epstein. I keep my promises."

"Good." He stood up and headed for the door. Stopping, he turned back to look at him. "Thanks Mr. Kotter."

"No problem, Epstein. Any time you feel you need to talk to me, you know where you can find me."

Epstein nodded his head, quietly leaving the room. As he walked down the hallway, he felt much better, having gotten his secret off his chest. However, what he and the teacher did not know was, at the worst possible moment during their conversation, someone walked by the classroom, overhearing his secret.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

The students of James Buchanan High had survived two full days of the new semester without any major incidents. Horshack had just barely survived his first two days of traditional first week hazing, which included the first day swirly and second day trash can stuffing (being tossed upside down into a trash can), mostly unscathed. In that time, things appeared to have gone back to normal for everyone in Gabe's classroom, especially with Epstein and his overall mood. However, no one ever expected what would take place on the third day back to school.

The bell rang and the students scattered, heading for their respected classrooms. As Gabe headed down the hallway to his classroom, he was unaware that Epstein was shortly behind him. Right as they nearly reached the door, Epstein turned and walked over to the bench in front of the lockers. Gabe, catching him out the corner of his eyes, stopped and then turned toward him.

"Epstein you plan on coming to class today?" He asked, looking at his student. Epstein, keeping his head down low, merely shrugged his shoulders as he sat. "What's the matter? You got another secret to tell me? Because I don't know how many more of your secrets I can take." Epstein slowly shook his head. The very faint sniff coming from the Sweathog, caught Gabe's attention even more. Concerned, Gabe walked over to the bench and sat down. "Epstein?"

Epstein lifted his head, scowling slightly at his teacher and revealing tears falling from his eyes.

"Juan you're _crying_?"

"Mr. Kotter I don't know how it happened but it happened."

"What happened?"

"The last thing I ever wanted to happen." He glanced away, and attempted to wipe some tears away despite the fact there were more coming. "She found out Mr. Kotter." He looked back up at him. "My mother actually found out."

"She found out?" He asked, a little confused. Then he understood all too well, what he meant. "Oh! She found out!" Catching himself from a near impression, he made his tone instantly serious and sympathetic. "I take it she didn't take the news well. What did she do?"

Looking down, Epstein sniffed and allowed more tears to fall for a moment. "She started yelling at me. She said 'How could you do this to me? You're breaking my heart, Juan!' Stuff like that." His voice sounded more choked up as he continued. "Mr. Kotter it was the first time when my mother was yelling at me and I couldn't yell back at her. I just stood there… taking it."

"What did you do after that?"

"I… I was so ashamed of myself, and I'm never ashamed like that when my mother's yelling at me." He looked back up at him. "So I left before she could kick me out. I haven't gone back yet."

"How long ago did you leave?"

"Well this was right after school yesterday." He shook his head "I just can't face her, Mr. Kotter."

"Well you've got to sometime, Epstein."

"I just can't." Again, he turned his head down. He covered his face with his hands, feeling the tears fall more frequently. "I wish I knew who told her about it. I'll kill whoever it was." He sniffed, uncovering his face.

"I assure you, Epstein, it wasn't me. When I told you I keep my promises, I meant it. I didn't even tell Julie."

Epstein looked up again. "I know Mr. Kotter. I don't just tell anybody I trust them. Didn't expect you to say nothing any way."

"Hey Mr. Kotter!" Vinnie's voice rang out, drawing their attention to the doorway.

Vinnie, Freddie, and Horshack all stood in the doorway, looking at them. As soon as he saw the three of them, Epstein quickly stood up, wiped his tears on the back of his hand, and walked over to the lockers. From there, he kept his back to the other Sweathogs.

"What is it, Vinnie?" said Gabe, "I'm in the middle of something here."

"We was wonderin' since you ain't started class yet, if it was cool for us to take off." Vinnie replied

"Yeah you ain't teachin', so we ain't sittin' around in the classroom." Freddie added as they started to leave the doorway.

"All of you get back in class. I'm dealing with something serious over here."

Suddenly, Horshack pointed towards Epstein, and spoke as loudly as he could. "Is that Little Juan over there, _crying_, Mr. Kotter?" He gave his distinctive croaking laugh. "Epstein _crying?_" He laughed some more.

Epstein whirled around, putting on his best tough air through the remainder of his tears. "Hey, shut it, Horshack!"

This caused Horshack to abruptly stop laughing, ending with a short cough. Vinnie and Freddie, greatly amused, called out and laughed in mockery towards Epstein.

"Man, Horshack, looks like you got Epstein's panties in a twist!" said Vinnie, laughing

Freddie clapped his hands together, dancing slightly in his spot, as he looked at Epstein. "Hey you need a tissue to wipe those tears, princess?"

"Good one, Freddie!" Horshack attempted to slap Freddie a high five, but Freddie pulled his hand away, causing Horshack to slap his hand against the doorframe instead.

Livid and trying hard to cover up his hurt pride, Epstein waved his hands towards them in a daring, come and fight, manner. "Hey! Up all your noses with rubber hoses!"

When it looked as though Epstein was about to charge with swinging fists, Gabe got up and stood between the boys. He made sure to hold Epstein at arm's length while looking at the other three boys.

"That's it. All three of you back in the class, now. And Juan, I want you to calm down before you hurt somebody, _then _go to class. I'll talk to all of you about this later."

"No!" Epstein huffed. "No way am I goin' in there with them just to get laughed at some more!" He quickly turned, storming down the hallway. Then, turning around and walking backward, he directed his next words mainly at the teacher. "Don't expect me to come back! You'll never see me around here again!" With those final words, he turned the corner, out of their sight.

Gabe, very displeased with the three of them, turned to the remaining Sweathogs and placed his hands firmly on his hips. Realizing immediately that he was not in any kind of mood for cracking jokes, the three boys straightened up and waited for what he had to say to them.

"For the first time since I became your teacher, I am actually ashamed to have the three of you as my students. Didn't you learn anything from the last time Epstein ran away like that?" He paused, taking in the serious and guilt-ridden expressions that befell their faces. "Now Epstein is very upset and is going through a rough time. He confided in me something that I can't even tell you about because of the promise I made him. And what do the three of you do? Instead of being real friends, you kick him while he's down. Do either of you have anything to say for yourselves?"

At first, Vinnie looked upset as though he was going to tell off his teacher. His demeanor then changed to show his guilt. "Come on Mr. Kotter! Now you made me feel bad!" He said with a little bit of a whiney tone and a pout. "Look we didn't mean nothing by it. It's just that we ain't never seen Epstein cry before."

"Yeah." Horshack said, crestfallen. "I didn't know he even knew how to cry."

"Hey Mr. Kah-tare we had no idea anything real heavy was going on with Epstein." Freddie started "Yesterday he seemed like himself. You shoulda seen the smile on his face as he dumped Horshack into the trash can." Stopping to see that Gabe was not amused, he became more serious. "Do you think there's anything we could do to make this up to him?"

"Well Washington, I honestly don't know. For now, the only thing you guys can do is get to class, whatever's left of it, and just give Epstein some time."

The three boys turned to go back into the room, with their teacher close behind. Horshack suddenly turned around to face Gabe, causing them both to stop in the doorway.

"But Mr. Kotter. What do we do if Epstein does not come back this time?"

"I don't know, Arnold."Gabe sighed. "Wish I did know."

With a sad nod of understanding, Horshack turned and entered the room. Gabe then took the doorknob in his hand and glanced back down the hallway for a second. Then, with a sigh, he entered the room and closed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Gabe walked in through the door of his apartment, and slouched his shoulders and back with a sigh. Seeing this, Julie approached him with concern.

"Gabe what's the matter? You have a rough day?"

"Julie, rough doesn't describe it." He took his jacket off and hung it in the closet.

"Why? What happened?"

"Epstein ran away again. Might be for good this time."

Julie gasped. "What made him run away this time? Where did he go?"

They walked over to the couch together. Gabe sank down onto the couch with his wife sitting beside him. He looked up at her with uncertainty.

"Well he ran away because the other boys were making fun of him for crying."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Crying."

"Yeah he was really upset and crying. I was talking to him then the Three Stooges came out and saw him while he was crying."

"Are you sure this is _Juan _you're talking about?"

"Yes, Julie, I'm certain. I almost didn't believe it either. But he's been going through a real tough time lately, and on the first day of school he confided in me with this problem. And so today he came into school upset and crying because his mother found out about… this problem which I had promised not to say anything about. He told me that while she was yelling at him over it, he left home."

Julie's face fell and she held a hand to her chest. "Oh poor Juan. I know you said you made a promise not to say anything, but what kind of problem could he be facing that would cause all this?"

"Julie, I don't know if I should say. For one thing, I made a promise and he trusted me. For another, you wouldn't believe me if I did tell you."

She nodded "Ok, Gabe, it's probably better that you didn't say anything. But whatever it is I hope Juan is okay out there."

"I hope so too."

Gabe stood up and headed into the bathroom. Once he left, Julie looked towards the window and saw a familiar silhouette behind the blinds. She stood up and walked over to the window to open it.

"Juan what are you doing out there?"

Epstein sat on the fire escape, staring out into space. He glanced over at her with a blank expression. "Oh hey Mrs. Kotter. I wasn't doing nothin'. Just out here thinking about stuff. Don't mean to bother you or nothin'."

"Juan would you like to come in?"

"No, no I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout me." He sighed and looked away, returning his attention to outer space.

"Ok, well, just out of curiosity, Juan, why did you choose our fire escape to think?"

"Well 'cause… if I come to certain thoughts I need to sort out, y'know out loud to somebody, I'm already near somebody who already knows about… certain things."

Julie nodded in understanding "Alright that makes sense. Gabe's home if you need to talk to him. Oh and, if you decide to come inside, don't hesitate. I'll leave the window open for you."

"Thanks Mrs. Kotter."

Julie walked away and went over to the closed bathroom door. "Gabe," She knocked "We have a visitor on the fire escape. Of the Sweathog variety."

"Great, invite him in."

"I did but he declined."

"Well then leave him alone. He'll find his way in eventually."

"They always do." She turned and headed toward the kitchen area.

Completely ignoring the dejected Sweathog on the fire escape, she missed the fact that he had just pulled a half pint of alcohol out of his jacket. As he took a swig from the bottle, Gabe left the bathroom. Looking up and seeing his teacher approach him, Epstein scrambled to hide the bottle. However, knowing it was far too late to hide it, he instead held it on display in his hand and gave his teacher a somewhat nervous, gap-toothed smile.

"Hi Mr. Kotter. I came over and brought ya a gift."

"Epstein get in here."

Epstein screwed the cap back on the bottle and put it back into his jacket. He then crawled through the open window, stumbling a little as his feet touched the floor. Once gaining his balance, he looked at Gabe, taking in the disappointed look on his face.

"Uh-oh you look mad." He clapped then laughed a little. "You don't gotta be mad at me, Mr. Kotter."

"Epstein how much have you had to drink?"

Hearing the word 'drink', Julie walked over to them in surprise. "Juan you've been _drinking_?"

"No, no, no," He smiled "Yeah."

"Answer my question, Epstein. How much?"

Epstein, opened his jacket and took out the bottle. He handed it to Gabe to show that it was a little more than half gone. "I uh, I actually had a little more than that before I came here."

"Epstein I'm surprised at you." Gabe started "What are you doing out there drinking? How'd you even get this? You're underage."

"Not by much."

"Ok that's beside the point. Epstein you're going through a hard time and ran away when you got picked on by your friends. Then what do you do? You go out drinking. What were you thinking, Epstein?"

The Sweathog instantly became defensive. "Hey you don't know what I'm going through! I'm supposed to be the toughest kid in school! I never turn down a fight and I've won most of the fights I've been in! Yeah I've been having a hard time dealing with my problem, but it's _my _problem to deal with any way I'm gonna deal with it! You don't understand what I'm going through 'cause you never had your mother in tears while screaming at you, telling you how much of a disappointment you are, how much you broke her heart, and that you've brought shame to the family all because you turned out to be gay!"

"You're _gay_?" Julie exclaimed, even more surprised

"GAY?" Three voices chorused from the open window

Epstein turned around and froze when he saw the other three Sweathogs sitting on the fire escape, looking in with shocked expressions. Trembling with an expression just as shocked and with some visible fear, Epstein then turned away and ran to the bathroom. Hearing the door lock after being slammed closed, the three Sweathogs slowly entered the apartment. Approaching the teacher while glancing back towards the bathroom a couple times, Vinnie was the first to ask the shared question.

"Did he just say he was gay, Mr. Kotter?" he let out a slightly nervous laugh "How's that even possible for a guy like him?"

"Yes, Barbarino." said Gabe "This was the secret he told me. It seems he inadvertently spilled it himself before I had a chance." He paused "But he's not dealing with it too well, as you can see. And he ran away from home because he says, he can't face his mother now that she knows."

"But Mr. Kah-tare." Freddie spoke somewhat hushed while leaning in close to the teacher. "I've known Epstein for a long time and I ain't never noticed any traces of no fairy wings on him befo'."

Horshack started laughing. "Little Juan the fairy!" He laughed some more.

"Hey Horshack!" Epstein shouted from inside the bathroom.

Horshack stopped laughing and looked toward the bathroom door "Yeah Little Juan?"

"Scram!"

Horshack nodded his head, despite the fact that he knew Epstein would not see it, and then turned toward the window to leave. Vinnie reached out with one hand to stop him and shook his head. Horshack then returned to his previous spot. Then, looking at Gabe, he spied the bottle in his hand.

"What's that, Mr. Kotter?"

"Well, Arnold, it seems that Epstein must have decided coming out to his teacher and then running away from home was cause for celebration." Gabe answered sarcastically

"Hey you mean Epstein went out and got drunk?" Vinnie asked

"Oh no." replied Horshack "His mother ain't gonna like that."

"How will she know?" asked Freddie "He already done ran away from home. Now he's hiding out drunk in Mr. Kah-tare's bathroom."

The conversation came to an abrupt end as they heard the sound of glass shattering against the bathroom door. Everybody's attention went immediately to the bathroom, in surprise and concern.

"Oh would ya look at that?" Epstein said from the bathroom. "Who woulda thought that throwing a bottle of alcohol at a door would make such a mess?"

Julie, wide-eyed, turned to her husband. "Gabe! Now he's throwing stuff in there!"

"How was I supposed to know he had another bottle in his jacket?"

She pushed on his arm. "Go get him out of there! I can't have a drunken Sweathog breaking things in the bathroom."

Gabe walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Juan this is Mr. Kotter. We've been through this before, you can't keep coming over here to hide in our bathroom. Especially if you're going to be in there breaking things."

"I'm not coming out, Mr. Kotter. Not as long as _they're _out there."

"Epstein these are your friends. They're concerned about you."

"If they were really my friends they wouldn't be out there laughin' and callin' me a fairy."

"Well Epstein, you got to understand. They're just confused… more than usual. News like this doesn't come along every day, especially when it has to do with someone close to them like this."

"I ain't comin' out there anyway! It's hard enough facing my mother without having to face those turkeys out there too."

"Hey Mr. Kotter." said Vinnie, strolling over to him. "Let me talk to him."

"You, Vinnie? How could you possibly know who to handle this situation?"

"Just trust me."

"Alright." Gabe stepped aside. "Have at it, Barbarino."

Vinnie stepped in front of the door and leaned against it a little. "Hey Epstein you still in there?"

"Nah, Barbarino. I snuck out the back way."

"Listen, Epstein I don't know what you're going through but I know what it's like watchin' somebody go through it." He paused, glancing toward everybody else for a second, before turning his eyes back to the door. "Look I got this cousin, Frankie. A couple years ago, he went through the same thing. He was scared and tried runnin' away like you did. But he faced his parents anyway." Again, he paused to try to figure out if Epstein was listening. "He told his parents, my aunt and uncle y'know, that he was gay. At first, they was real upset. They yelled at him 'till they was blue, called him a big disappointment and every name they could think of, except Frankie. At first, they disowned him. For a while actually."

"Barbarino, " Epstein said, interrupting him. "If this is supposed to help me feel better then you're way off track."

"I ain't done yet! Just keep listenin'. Alright so like I said, my aunt and uncle disowned Frankie. Then after a while I guess they got tired of not havin' a son even though he was still around. They thought about it and decided that he was still their son an' you know what? They actually still loved him. They came to realize that they weren't gonna ever not love him no matter what he did. Guess they figured having a son who was into guys was better than having no son at all. An' Frankie is still the same guy he always was. He just doesn't date chicks is all. He's a real great guy too. One of my favorite people." Another pause, yet a shorter one. "An' I think that, if Frankie had run away instead of facing his parents, he wouldn't be around anymore. An' I would miss him a lot. I didn't lose my cousin Frankie. Don't make me lose one of my best friends."

There was silence for a moment before Epstein spoke. "Alright Barbarino. I'll, uh, I'll think about what you said."

Vinnie stepped away from the door and looked at everybody else. "That's 'bout all I can do. If he doesn't come out after that then you're gonna hafta get used to a short Puerto Rican Jew living in your bathroom, Mr. Kotter."

"Hey!" Freddie laughed with a smile, turning to Gabe. "Picture yo'self in there every mo'ning. You could be trimming yo mustache and be bumping into Epstein the whole time, getting' tangled up with his afro." He turned to Vinnie and slapped him a low five. Then he turned toward Horshack as though to slap him a five as well, but he pulled his hand away before it could make contact.

Again, an interruption came from the bathroom, but this time it was more subtle than the one before it. This time, what they heard was Epstein speaking seemingly to himself. However, what he was saying was mumbled and in a different language. After listening to this for a few seconds, the other three Sweathogs turned, confused, to their teacher.

"Mr. Kotter what's he sayin'?" Vinnie asked

"Whatever it is, it don't sound too good. He musta had a lot to drink." Added Freddie

Gabe laughed, "It's ok, he's just praying. I think. I never heard anyone slur in Hebrew before. Then again I never had a drunken Jewish teenager locked in my bathroom before either."

Epstein stopped talking and then a short moment later, he left the bathroom. Everybody else, upon his exit, gave a small cheer that stopped him in his tracks for a second. Waving them off, he walked over to the couch and sat down. Gabe turned to Julie and asked her to make some coffee, before he sat next to Epstein.

"Juan," Horshack said as he stood next to Epstein "If you don't mind me axing, what was you prayin' about?"

Epstein pointed a finger up at him. "That's none of your business, Horshack. It was a private moment. But y'know, I've prayed in English, and in Hebrew. I even prayed a little in Spanish just for good measure." He paused "But each time I prayed, I got the same answer. There ain't no changing this about me." He sank deeper into the couch.

"What did you expect, Epstein?" Gabe asked, "You didn't actually think that would work did you?"

"Hey it was worth a shot." Epstein looked toward Vinnie. "Barbarino," He waved his hand "C'mere."

Vinnie stepped over to the couch and leaned down to be closer to Epstein's level. "Wut?"

"Barbarino, I just wanted to thank you for what you were sayin' to me."

"Hey, I may not look it, but when I need to, I can come up with some pretty smart things to say."

"Too bad you don't do that on your test papers." Gabe quipped

Julie walked over to the couch, and handed Epstein a mug of coffee. "Here, Juan. Drink this."

"Oh Mrs. Kotter, I'm sorry about that mess in there with the bottle."

"Don't worry about it, Juan. I'll take care of that later."

Gabe looked at Epstein and nudged the mug in his hand encouragingly. "Here, Epstein. You need to sober up."

"Why?"

"Because, Epstein. Once you sober up, I'm taking you home to see your mother."

Epstein shook his head, sitting the mug down on the table in front of him. "Oh no. No, I'm sorry, I can't do that. Alright I'll go back to school tomorrow but I still can't go back home. Not while my mother knows about me being gay."

"So, you mean you won't ever go back home?" Asked Freddie

"Maybe. I mean it's not like anyone would notice one less person there."

"Yeah, especially when that person didn't take up much room to begin with." Horshack replied, before receiving a dirty look from Epstein

"Look, Epstein," Gabe started "I know you don't want to but you're going to have to go home eventually." He stood up and took the mug to the kitchen area and set it near the sink. "Whether you go home tonight or tomorrow or-" He turned back to the couch to see Epstein slumped over a little more. He then walked back to the couch and sat down "Epstein?"

"I think he's out, Mr. Kotter." Vinnie said simply

Gabe sighed, "Ok so he's not going home tonight. At least not until he comes to."

Julie sat on the arm of the couch, next to her husband. "Gabe he'll be fine to stay and sleep it off. But tomorrow morning he has to go."

"Don't worry, Julie. He'll go to school with me. Even if I have to drag him behind me by his hair, he's going to school."

"But what about after school? He can't stay here again. We just don't have the room."

"Hey don't worry, Mrs. Kotter. We'll take care of Epstein after school." Freddie remarked

"Yeah an' we'll also make sure he don't get his hands on no more alcohol." Vinnie added reassuringly

"Good." Julie said, "Now I think it's time you boys left so Mr. Kotter and I can deal with Juan."

After she said that, the three Sweathogs turned for the window. They said their goodbye's to the Kotters and prepared to leave. Horshack, last to the window, stopped and turned back toward Gabe.

"Mr. Kotter if I come by in the morning, could I watch you drag Epstein off to school by his hair?"

"Go home, Arnold." Gabe replied, trying not to show any amusement. Horshack nodded his head and then left through the window to catch up with Freddie and Vinnie.

Once the three boys were officially gone, Gabe looked at his wife. He then looked at Epstein for a second, watching him slowly slide down even more. Gabe and Julie then assisted Epstein, who just barely woke up enough to notice he was being moved, getting him to stretch out along the length of the couch. Julie then went over to the closet and dug out a blanket. She brought the blanket over to the couch and spread it neatly over Epstein. Then, with a nearly incoherent mumble, Epstein spoke a single quiet "thank you" to them both before passing out completely.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

As the students roamed through the halls, they chatted amongst themselves, creating somewhat of a rumble of voices. Locker doors slammed throughout the hallways, often riding above the loudness of the constant chattering. The lights in the school also seemed obnoxiously bright that day as they beamed down upon the students. Every voice, every metallic slam, every single squeak or tap of random shoes across the floor, even the hum of the fluorescent lights with the overbearing brightness, wreaked havoc on one student as he lay across the bench in agony. Epstein, eyes hidden behind his dark sunglasses, tried desperately to ward off the ever-increasing headache he was experiencing, but to no use.

With the amount of students dwindling as everyone headed for their classes, the noise in the hallways began dining down as well. This brought Epstein a moment of near relief. The moment, however, disappeared as Vinnie and Horshack approached him.

"Hi Little Juan!" Horshack shouted

Epstein winced as he sat up. "Shut it, Horshack, or I-" He stood up a little too fast, then sat back down with a grunt, holding his stomach.

"What's the matter, Epstein?" Vinnie laughed. "Mrs. Kotter feed you her tuna casserole for breakfast?"

Holding back his urge to heave, Epstein shook his head. "Barbarino, I wouldn't mention food around me right now, if I were you."

"Why not?" He teased

"I'm too sick right now to be able to knock that smile off your face. So I guess you're off the hook. For now."

They were interrupted by the ringing bell that announced they were late for class. The sound of the bell seemed intensified to Epstein, causing to wince and hold his head in pain. Vinnie slapped him on the back as he walked by, briefly mentioning how he would meet him in the classroom. Then, closely behind Vinnie, Horshack went immediately into his croaking laugh, making it even more annoying as he passed Epstein. After they entered the classroom, Gabe stood in the doorway looking at the student on the bench, unaware that Freddie was sneaking into the classroom behind him.

"Come on, Epstein. Time for class."

Epstein groaned, holding his head down. "Don't think I can make it, Mr. Kotter. I ain't feelin' so hot."

Gabe walked over to Epstein and pulled him to his feet. He then started ushering him forward into the classroom. "Well, I suppose you'll think twice next time you decide to drink on a school night."

"Not so loud, Mr. Kotter."

Gabe raised his voice to a near shout as he shoved the student forward. "Sit down, Epstein."

Epstein slowly shuffled over to his desk and sank down into the chair with a heavy slouch. Really feeling the effects of his hangover, he folded his arms over the desk and rested his head on top of them. Freddie, wasting no time, threw a paper airplane at Epstein. The airplane landed neatly, getting stuck in Epstein's hair. With a grunt, Epstein reached up and pulled the airplane out of his hair, crumpled it up and tossed it to the floor. Gabe walked over to the student's desk, standing right in front of it with his hands on his hips.

"Excuse me, Mr. Epstein." He said comically "There will be no sleeping in the classroom. Unless you want me to transfer you to the kindergarten class in the elementary school." Epstein did not budge, but only grumbled a reply. This prompted Gabe to lean down closer to him. "Epstein wake up! He shouted in his ear.

Epstein jumped, quickly sitting up as straight as he could. His sunglasses nearly fell off his face in the process, but he managed to catch them. "What? What? I'm up! I'm up!" He adjusted his sunglasses, and sank back a little in his chair.

"Good." Gabe grinned a little "Now stay that way and pay attention."

"Mr. Kotter, couldn't we do this payin' attention in class thing some other day when I'm feeling more up to it? Say some time in 1987."

"With my luck, and your grades, you'll still be in my class." He said, sounding quite a bit like Groucho Marx. "But sorry, Juan, I know you're hung-over but I still expect you to at least pretend to learn."

With a slight hesitation, Epstein scooted up some more in his seat. As much as he did not want to, he put his best effort into seeming as though he was paying attention to Gabe's lesson. While he did this, however, he actually was just trying to keep himself together while wishing for the relief of death. The class seemed to drag on too painfully slow, which brought more agony to the hung-over student. Finally, right when Epstein thought the class was going to never end, the bell rang. Even though he was happy that class was over, he still moved rather slowly getting to his feet.

By the time he made it nearly to the door, most of the other students were out of the class. Gabe stood in the doorway, blocking him. He turned and saw the other three Sweathogs standing there. He looked from his friends to the teacher then sighed.

"Ok I give up. What's going on?" He asked

"Juan we would like to talk to you." Gabe said

"Well Mr. Kotter, I'd like to thank you for making me come to school today."

"Oh really?" Gabe answered, not buying the statement from Epstein

"I'd like to. But I can't, 'cause I gotta go throw myself in front of a bus. Hopefully I'll feel better then."

He tried to leave the room but Gabe ushered him back inside. Gabe and the other three Sweathogs took seats and looked at Epstein.

"Join us over here, Juan." Gabe instructed

Horshack patted the empty chair next to him. "Room for one more." He let out a short laugh

Without saying anything, Epstein then joined the others, taking the seat next to Horshack. Then, looking at all four of them, he started to remove his sunglasses. Wincing from the light, he changed his mind and put them back in place.

"Alright." He said. "What's this all about?"

"We just wanted to talk to you a little more about last night." The teacher said

"Do we gotta do this now?"

"Yes, Epstein." Gabe laughed as he continued "Besides, I don't think that your other teachers will be worried about you guys. I'm sure by now they all expect you all to be late for class."

"Alright, so, what are you guys gonna do?" Epstein asked, a little agitated. "Pick on me some more about my hangover? 'Cause none of that was funny."

Freddie smiled "Hey don't sweat, Epstein. We coo'. I mean we were only messin' 'cause, y'know, we care 'bout ya."

"Oh." Horshack said "That's how come we were doin' it? I just thought it was funny." He started laughing. Epstein glanced over the top of his sunglasses, glaring his displeasure at Horshack, causing his laughter to be abrupt.

"Hey, don't worry Epstein." Vinnie said "We won't mess with ya no more. Like Freddie said, we was only doin' it cause we care about ya."

"Well if that was because you care, then I'd hate to see what you woulda done if you didn't."

"Okay," Gabe did his best to add a seriousness to the conversation. "Enough of this. Now let's move away from Epstein's hangover and the fact that he was drinking last night. We should discuss something a little more serious than that."

All eyes turned to Epstein and all traces of humor faded away. Feeling uncomfortable, he slouched in his seat and turned his head down slightly. In that moment he mentally thanked the fact that he wore his darkest sunglasses to make things easier to avoid eye contact. Even though he was dreading the upcoming conversation, he decided that he would sit there and listen to what they would have to say to him, even if it meant he'd have to use all his remaining strength just to uphold his head.

"Now, Juan, I thought we should discuss the matter of you running away from home."

"Mr. Kotter I already said I can't go home." He looked at Vinnie "Barbarino, I really do appreciate everything you said to me last night, about your cousin. But I don't think it can help me."

"So all that stuff I said was for nothin'." Vinnie folded his arms across his chest. "Sorry for tryin' to help, Epstein."

"You don't understand-"

"Come on, Epstein, man." Freddie cut him off. "We know you left because your mother was upset. She's got to be gettin' worried about you by now."

"That's just it, Freddie." Epstein removed his sunglasses, looking directly at him with slightly squinted eyes. In this moment, there was clear pain in his eyes that went beyond what he was still experiencing from his hangover. "She was so upset that she _cried. _I ain't never made my mother cry before, no matter how mad she is at me." He turned his head down "An' y'know, I also never been called a big disappointment like that before. So that's why I can't face her. 'Cause if I did, I'd see that disappointment all over her. An' I couldn't live with that."

Silence surrounded all of them as they took in what Epstein said. Epstein had kept his head down until he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he looked up, Horshack was offering him an end of his scarf.

"What's that for, Horshack?"

"In case you cry."

Right away, Epstein's face hardened as he prepared for a defense. "Hey, now, ain't nobody's gonna make fun of me for that again."

"Hey who's makin' fun?" Vinnie asked "So you cried! I mean, yeah we laughed at the time, but that was only 'cause it was funny." He saw Epstein's anger begin to rise "But that was before we knew anything about what happened with you and your mother an' all that."

"Yeah man," Freddie chimed in "What's the big deal? We still think of you as the toughest kid in school."

"Even though I got fairy wings, huh Freddie?" He asked with a defensive smirk in his voice.

"Whoa, hold up. I ain't never said that, Epstein."

"Oh yeah? Then what did you say last night?" He started to get out of his chair and head over to Freddie. "It sure sounded like something like that came out of your mouth."

"Hey you misunderstood what I meant."

At this point, Gabe stood between the boys, making Epstein sit back down. "Alright, let's end this before it gets out of hand. Epstein, calm down. Freddie didn't mean anything by what he said last night. At least not the way you're taking it."

With a fading scowl on his face, Epstein went back to his seat. He then, with a slight sigh, put his sunglasses back on. At first, the quiet filled the room as they all sat there. For a moment, Epstein held tension in his entire face and body as he sat, scowling with his arms folded across his chest. However, shortly his demeanor softened and he reverted to a near slouch. Knowing that all attention was back on him, he started to feel uncomfortable. He then looked up at all of them and let out a sigh.

"Alright, what else do we got to talk about?"

There was another bout of silence before Gabe decided to speak. "Would either of you like to say something? Anything at all."

Horshack threw his hand up in the air and excitedly moved about in his seat, trying desperately to get unnecessary attention. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Mr. Kotter! Ooh! Ooh!"

"I suddenly get the feeling that Arnold would like to say something." Gabe finished with a small laugh. "Go ahead, Arnold."

Horshack put his arm down and then calmly turned to Epstein. "Little Juan, if you don't mind me axing." He paused slightly "How did you get to be gay in the first place?"

"What? Do you think I chose this for myself? 'Cause I didn't. I never wanted no part of this."

"There's one thing I don't get." said Vinnie

"Just _one_?" Freddie laughed

"Hey!" Freddie stopped laughing then Vinnie continued. "Any way, something I don't get is, if you're gay then how come you always date girls?"

"Come on, Barbarino. You actually expect me to date guys in front of everybody? I don't even want to date them in private." Epstein paused "But I've always kinda known that dating girls wasn't right for me, y'know? Every time I've been with a girl it just felt wrong to me."

"Then why keep dating them?"

"Well, Freddie… I guess I was hopin' the feeling would pass."

"The feeling never passed, did it, Epstein?" Gabe asked. Epstein turned his head down and mouthed "no" as he shook his head. "You knew it really wouldn't, didn't you?" This time Epstein nodded and mouthed "yes".

Epstein looked back up and noticed Horshack staring at him in confusion. "What, Horshack? Quit lookin' at me."

"Just wonderin' Epstein, how long have you felt dating girls was wrong for ya?"

"Since I started."

"You started dating in the sixth grade." Vinnie added

A look of realization fell slowly to Horshack's face. "Oohhh… Why'd you go so long without letting anyone in on this secret? Ain't we your friends?"

"Yeah you're my friends. But like I told Mr. Kotter, I'd been in denial about it for so long. It hasn't exactly been something easy to deal with." He became quiet for a second and moved his sunglasses to the top of his head. "Y'know it's weird. I actually kinda feel better about you guys knowin' 'bout this. It was getting harder and harder to keep this around with me. Always hidin' it from people ain't easy. But now with you guys knowin' I don't gotta hide it as much." He pointed a finger at them. "But that don't mean I need it spread around."

"Come on, Epstein. We ain't gonna tell nobody!"

"Vinnie's right, man. We're yo' best friends." Freddie added, "You don't have a thing to worry about."

"Yeah." Horshack said, "I couldn't say anything for fear of getting stuffed in your gym locker."

To this, Epstein smiled and let out a small laugh. He then turned to Horshack and gave him his best intimidating stare. "And it better stay that way."

Gabe glanced up at the clock, and then reached into his desk drawer for a pad of notebook paper. "Alright I think this is a good place to end the conversation." He started writing on separate sheets of paper. "As much as I enjoy seeing your faces in my classroom, I think your other teachers should get the privilege of seeing them as well." He ripped four sheets of paper out of the notebook. "Here, I took the liberty of letting your teachers know that you were in a conference with me."

The Sweathogs got up and walked over to Gabe's desk. He handed each of them their freshly written note as they left the room.

"Epstein, I'm sorry but I could not sign this one in your mother's name. You're just going to have to get by with a legit note."

"Hey, no problem Mr. Kotter." He patted his shirt pocket "I've got plenty of other notes I can use for my other teachers. I'll just hafta let this one slide." He smiled then stepped into the hallway to catch up with his friends.

Vinnie walked along side him and placed a hand on his shoulder "Listen, Epstein, since you ain't goin' back home, you could come over my house and stay for tonight."

"Hey thanks, Barbarino. I might take ya up on your offer."

"But I gotta warn you now; you'll have to share a room with me and my brother."

Epstein shrugged his shoulders. "No problem. It'll be a nice change from having to share a room with four of mine. I'll be able to stretch out for once."

The two friends shared a laugh and then headed down the hallway towards their respected classes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

A couple weeks had passed since that conversation in Gabe's classroom. In the days that passed, things between the Sweathogs went along typically for them. Even though they all knew they shared this secret with Epstein, none of them ever let on as though there was any sort of shared knowledge between them. Epstein was acting and feeling much more like himself, feeling even more the great relief that came from the conversation he had with his friends. As well, because of this, he was having a much easier time dealing with and accepting this truth about himself.

The other Sweathogs had picked up on this and let him know in their own way how happy they were to have their friend back to normal. Privately, they also let him know how good it made them feel to see him much more at ease when it came to his issues with his sexuality. Gabe had also noticed this, and told him how proud he was to see him so clearly comfortable with it. However, there was also still one issue that Gabe insisted upon revisiting; he knew Epstein still refused to go back home. Even though he had become comfortable with his sexuality, Epstein felt he still could not face his mother with the subject. Because of this, during the past couple weeks, he had gone from one friend's house to another; something that Horshack had dubbed "musical houses".

At one point, toward the end of the second week, Gabe had to wonder if the conversation they shared really was enough to cause Epstein to be such at ease with this subject. Gabe felt it was too short of a time for Epstein to have made such a dramatic change in his attitude towards his sexuality. When he'd try to ask the student about the quick change, Epstein just smiled or changed the subject. This, of course, only added to the teacher's curiosity. However, he decided it was best to let it go.

It was late that Friday night when the two teenage boys snuck quietly into the basement of the apartment building. The basement was dark and packed full of people's belongings, as the residents of the building used it for a storage room. This provided plenty of great hiding spots for the two teenagers.

With a small laugh, followed by a shushing sound, Epstein ushered the other boy towards a clear spot on the basement floor. As the two of them sat on the floor, they embraced each other before immediately fell into a slow and sensual kiss. As they pulled away from the kiss, Epstein looked into the other boy's eyes and smiled. They moved forward again to enter another kiss when they heard two voices approaching from the other side of the basement door. Epstein quickly motioned to the other boy, indicating for him to hide somewhere.

By the time the door opened, Epstein sat there facing the teacher and his wife with a slightly nervous smile on his face. Gabe and Julie stopped dead still, surprised to see the Sweathog sitting there in the middle of the room.

"Juan what are you doing down here?" Julie asked

"I stopped by for a visit."

"I think you're a little lost, Epstein." said Gabe "The fire escape's upstairs."

"Yeah, well," Epstein stood up. "I decided to take a different route to your apartment."

Julie looked at him skeptically. "Did you _really _come here to visit us, Juan?"

The Sweathog smiled "Yeah." He laughed, smile fading slightly as he shook his head. "No."

"What are you doing here?"

"Hey listen Mr. Kotter, Mrs. Kotter, I'm sorta hiding out for a little bit. Needed some time to myself."

"So you came to hide out in the basement of our apartment building?" Gabe asked, a little surprised.

Epstein looked around at the dark, packed basement. "I can't think of a better place to hide out than right here. I just didn't count on nobody coming down, here, y'know?"

Suddenly, the sound of somebody sneezing drew their attention over to the stack of boxes in the corner. Gabe and Julie looked toward the boxes and then looked back at Epstein.

"Juan, I thought you said you came here to be by yourself." said Julie

"I did."

Gabe pointed towards the boxes "Then who was that?"

"Who? That?" Epstein asked while also pointing towards the boxes. "Nobody."

"_Nobody? _Epstein, cardboard boxes don't sneeze."

"Did I say nobody?" he paused briefly. "That was the mice."

"Mice." Julie repeated

There was a second, louder sneeze. "Yeah. Really _big _mice." Epstein replied with a forcefully serious and innocent tone.

Gabe immediately entered his impression of W.C. Fields "Ah yes. The very first mouse to ever have a human-sized head cold. We must take it to the doctor at once." He slipped back into his normal voice. "Epstein, who is over there?"

Epstein stepped over to the stack of boxes. He then used one hand to wave the other boy out of his hiding place. This boy, when he came into view before the Kotters, stood almost a foot taller than Epstein and he held the familiar Vinnie Barbarino swagger about him. He slipped an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders before looking at the older couple. Epstein grinned and tilted his head a little towards the taller boy.

"Mr. Kotter, Mrs. Kotter, I'd like you to meet Vinnie's cousin, Frankie Barbarino. Frankie, my teacher Mr. Kotter and his wife."

Gabe shook Frankie's hand. "Well nice to meet you, Frankie."

"Mr. Kotter." Frankie nodded "You must be the infamous teacher Vinnie told me about. The one who does the impressions."

"That's right. Vinnie mentioned you before."

Julie looked at Epstein curiously. "So Juan, where did the two of you meet?"

"At Vinnie's. He invited me over to stay the night but he didn't mention that Frankie was gonna be there for a visit. I asked him if it was a set up, and he pulled that dumb guy routine on me. But then it really didn't matter if it was a set up, because we hit it off right away." He finished with a grin.

"Yeah, and I hope you don't say anything to anyone, but Juan and I have been sorta hiding out down here at night to, uh, to spend some time alone. Together."

"Oh you mean, _together, _together?" Julie said with realization. "In our basement."

"How much, together?" Gabe asked. Epstein made quiet motions with his hands and mouthed incoherent words before Gabe held a hand up to stop him. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"So, if you don't mind," said Epstein, while trying not to smirk too much, "We kinda want to be alone right now. See we were kinda just gettin' started right before the two of you showed up, and we'd like to continue what we was doin'."

At first the Kotters stood, trying to wrap their heads around Epstein actually having some sort of intimate moment with another teenage boy. Then, with pleading, eager eyes Epstein looked at the teacher and his wife, silently asking them again to give them privacy. Even though they still found it strange that Epstein was clearly involved with another boy, Gabe and Julie both realized that for the first time, since coming out, Epstein was truly happy.

"Oh sure, Juan." said Julie, smiling slightly awkwardly "We'll just get out of your hair." She grabbed hold of Gabe's arm and they started to turn to the basement door.

"You two, ah, be careful down here." Gabe said, unsure at first of how to reply. "Don't run into any more of those big mice."

Epstein grinned a little and waved at them. "Hey thanks. Oh and, you guys won't tell nobody about us being down here, right?"

"Don't worry, Epstein." He and Julie stepped outside the door. "Your secret's safe with us."

"Good. Good. See ya in school on Monday, Mr. Kotter."

Gabe nodded his head and turned away, with his hand on the doorknob. Just before shutting the door, he looked back at the two teenage boys. Epstein turned to Frankie and wrapped his arms around him. Then, as they started to kiss, Gabe quietly closed the door and followed Julie up the stairs.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

The following Monday arrived without a hitch, allowing all of the students to enter the school with a sense of dread for the new week. As usual, the remedial students wandered through the hallways, taking up as much time as they possibly could so not to actually make it to Gabe's class on time. Unsurprisingly, as the bell rang, Gabe peered into the hallway to discover four students, all too familiar with tardiness, loitering in front of the lockers.

"For once, just once, I would love it if the four of you actually entered my classroom _before _the bell rang."

"Would that make you happy, Mr. Kotter?" Epstein asked with a smirk

"Happy? Why it would make me delighted!"

Epstein shrugged with a grin "Looks like today ain't your day."

"The rest of the week ain't lookin' no good either." Freddie added before receiving a low five from Epstein

Horshack drew attention over to himself as he started to laugh. Vinnie put an end to the laugh before stepping over to Gabe.

"Mr. Kotter, we've been over this before. We hang out here long as we can to hold onto what's left of our freedom in the school day. An' it would make us happy if you didn't butt in every time the bell rang."

"All of you get in the classroom."

The boys all grumbled as they shuffled past their teacher into the classroom. Once all the students were inside the room, Gabe closed the door. The class went by just like any other class, with an exchange of wisecracks between the students and teacher, as well as other jokes and corny impressions amongst actual learning. Eventually the bell rang, bringing an end to the class. While most of the students left the room, Epstein remained behind and stood, grinning, by Gabe's desk.

"Juan," Gabe said with a small laugh "Don't tell me you're looking for some extra credit, or a tougher homework assignment."

"What? And ruin my reputation? I might as well turn in a test paper I didn't cheat on."

"The day you do that will be the day Mr. Woodman cracks a legitimate smile. And not from putting down the Sweathogs."

"That's good, that's good." Epstein nodded "Hey listen Mr. Kotter, I just wanted to thank you for the past couplea weeks. You really helped me through a tough time there, y'know? Not many people are willing to do stuff like that for me."

"Well, Epstein, I'm glad to be here for you. You know you can come to me any time you feel you need it."

"Yeah I know. Thanks. And, uh, you should be glad to hear that I finally went back home last night. Faced my mother."

"Good for you, Epstein! So how did it go?"

"Well it was actually better than I expected it to be. When she first saw me, she pulled me into the biggest hug she ever gave me. Couldn't breathe for a little bit there 'til she let go. Then when she finally let me go she slapped me upside the head for being gone for so long." He paused, catching Gabe's amused expression. "Then she and my father sat me down and we had a real long talk about everything. I apologized for running away and my mother apologized for some of the things she said to me the day I left. She then made me promise that for now on, no matter how heavy things may get, I won't run away like that no more."

"Well good to hear that. How's she taking you being back home?"

"I've only been home since last night, Mr. Kotter. But I can tell she's already happy to have me back. Even though I am an animal." He laughed. "I think it's gonna be rough for a little while, but y'know, it's good to be home. Actually, I couldn't stand going from house to house no more. Mr. Kotter, do you know what it's like sharing a room with Horshack? That laugh follows him to bed in the form of a snore. Took all I could not to smother 'im with my pillow."

Gabe laughed. "I think Arnold's glad you were able to show such restraint."

"Let me tell ya, it wasn't easy."

"Epstein, I really am proud of you for finally going home and facing your mother. I just hope the next time you have a problem, you keep your promise to her."

"Don't worry, I will." He started to leave the room but stopped and turned back towards the teacher. "Oh, thanks again, Mr. Kotter."

"Any time, Juan."

Epstein grinned and left the room. As the student headed for his next class, Gabe shook his head with a grin. It was only a couple weeks into the new school year and he already had to deal with a serious issue plaguing one of his students. However, he was more than glad to help him when he needed it the most. He knew that, after what he went through with Epstein the past couple weeks, things were only going to get much more interesting for the semester. And, he felt that he was ready for whatever was to come. With the students he had to face on a daily basis, Gabe Kotter wouldn't have things any other way.


End file.
